Introduce myself

I had a real experience with God's spirit and I believe he is active in my life. But I have given up on trying to convince atheists that God exists. It's a non-sequitur IMO. You either experience God in your life or you don't. I'll never go back to creationism and I don't even know if I believe in an afterlife. It's a completely subjective experience that has enriched my life personally.

That being said, I still will listen to atheist podcasts and look for natural explanations to the world around me. I believe in a power that is greater than us. No labels, no special claims, and no magic incantations. I just know that this God exists and knows me personally. Because isn't that the frustrating part, when hardcore theists try to shove their subjective experiences down your throat?

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the reply. Would you agree that the problem isn't belief, but religion? I respect your belief and your right to have that belief, as I think you respect mine. People believing different things isn't bad, in fact it's inevitable!

The problems come when people use belief to control others and influence society to conform to their beliefs.

Christopher Hitchens goes into this in great detail in his book "God is not Great: How religion posions everything." Which is a really bad title as it doesn't really address God at all, but is almost entirely concerned with religion.

I think that a Theistic belief such as yours cannot fall into the negative category because it has no agenda. It's only when people try to get other people to believe the same under the threat of eternal destruction that there is a problem. Or if they try to get their beliefs taught in schools, or try to influence government policy, or any of the countless ways that religion poisons everything.